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AM accuses Labour of 'shutting down debate'

Ceredigion AM Elin Jones has accused the Labour Party of shutting down debate as Health Committee members voted down her efforts to hear evidence from the MP Ann Clwyd.

The Plaid Cymru AM. who is also the shadow health minister, proposed to invite Mrs Clwyd to the committee to hear evidence from her about her correspondence from patients in the Welsh NHS, but it was voted down on block by Labour members.

Elin Jones says that she is dismayed at the decision, and accused the Welsh Government of burying its head in the sand instead of working constructively to build a better health service.

She said:

“It is outrageous that a Labour block vote has shut down the opportunity for the committee to scrutinise this work. Ann Clwyd has gained valuable information on the Welsh NHS from a patient perspective from the work that she has done.

“This could have been an important opportunity to share her conclusions and would have allowed the committee to scrutinise her work in terms of the information that she has gathered from Welsh patients.

“I know that I have constituents in Ceredigion who wrote to Ann Clwyd and they have been outraged by the First Minister’s attack on her last week and they will be furious about this refusal.”